Padres Designate Cesar Carrillo For Assignment
The Padres have designated pitcher Cesar Carrillo for assignment, according to a team press release. This marks the third time that the right-hander has been DFA'd this month.
San Diego first designated Carrillo for assignment on September 1st to create room on the 40-man roster. He was then claimed by the Phillies who DFA'd him just days later. The Padres picked him up once more on Wednesday only to designate him this afternoon.
The former first-round selection of the 2005 draft posted a 5.60 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 27 Triple-A starts for the Padres' affiliate this season.
Cardinals Designate Evan MacLane For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated lefthanded starter Evan MacLane for assignment, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The hurler was DFA'd in order to make room for second baseman Daniel Descalso on the 40-man roster.
MacLane registered a 4.45 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 147.2 IP this season for the Cards' Triple-A affiliate. In early June, the 27-year-old made his major league debut and surrendered a ninth-inning walk-off homer to the Rockies' Chris Iannetta.
Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Mets, Harang,
Here are some links to check out on a very muggy Monday night in New York..
- So far, it appears that the Cardinals are getting more than their money's worth when it comes to Matt Holliday, says Jack Moore of Fangraphs.
- Arizona will begin their GM search in earnest on Tuesday when they interview Dodgers' scouting director Logan White, writes Jack Magruder of FoxSportsArizona.com.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wants to see the Mets hire Kevin Towers as GM and Lee Mazzilli as manager.
- A reader asked John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter) why the club didn't designate Aaron Harang for assignment instead of Enerio Del Rosario. Fay believes that it has to do with when the Reds want to pay the starter his buyout of $2MM.
- Toronto manager Cito Gaston isn't having second thoughts about retiring at season's end, writes Pete Kerzel for MLB.com.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com that picking up reliever Chris Leroux was a moderate risk worth taking.
Poll: Will Boston Re-Sign Beltre?
Earlier this evening, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal wondered if Adrian Beltre will figure into Boston's plans this offseason. The third baseman, who will earn just $10MM for his outstanding play in 2010, is seeking a multi-year commitment in his next deal. Beltre has exceeded all expectations this year by turning in a .326/.369/.563 slash line with 27 homers and a strong defensive play (15.1 UZR/150) at third.
The Red Sox would obviously love to have Beltre back but he may very well command more money and years on the open market than they would be willing to yield. Tim Dierkes believes that the Scott Boras client may seek $50MM over four-years at the outset of this offseason. And, as Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out, there are plenty of potential suitors who could up the bidding for his services. If Theo Epstein & Co. feel that Beltre is too rich for their blood, they could turn over the third baseman gig to either Jed Lowrie or Kevin Youkilis (if a new first baseman is found). Of course, there would still be a void to fill in the absence of the 31-year-old Beltre.
Will Boston re-sign Adrian Beltre?
Hisashi Iwakuma Wants To Join MLB
It seems that Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma wants to try and head to MLB via posting after the season, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times (via Twitter). According to Patrick Newman in a piece for Fangraphs, the Rakuten Eagles standout is the second best MLB pitching prospect in NPB.
The 29-year-old right-hander is described by Newman as a "fairly standard fastball/slider/forkball" pitcher who can reach 95 mph on the gun but typically stays around 90-91 mph. Iwakuma has a rather lanky frame, standing at 6"3' and weighing just 170 pounds.
While Rakuten won't be eager to part with their star hurler, he is set to be eligible for international free agency after 2011. Newman tells MLBTR that the club may find it more palatable to cash in on him rather than lose him for nothing.
Torre Would Support Padilla’s Return
While Joe Torre's future with the Dodgers is still uncertain, he told the press that he would recommend bringing starter Vicente Padilla back next season, according to Richard Dean in a piece for MLB.com.
"When we got him about a year ago, there were so many stories that followed him," said the 70-year-old skipper. "But he's been a good teammate. I don't think there's anybody who doesn't like what he does. It's tough to find stuff like he has. When he gets out there he can still do it. He knows what he's doing. He has not been a [negative] issue baseball-wise. I like him."
Padilla hooked on with the Dodgers with two months remaining in 2009 and re-upped with the club over the winter, signing a one-year, $5.025MM deal. The soon-to-be 33-year-old was released by Texas who reportedly considered him to be a bad teammate. Torre's backing suggests that there has been no such issue in Los Angeles.
The righthander missed a great deal of time in 2010, turning in just 16 starts. In 95 innings of work, he registered a 4.07 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, numbers that are a step above his career averages. Padilla was scheduled to return to action yesterday, giving him a chance to audition himself, but will instead be shut down for the year due to a neck injury. He will be joined in free agency by fellow Dodgers starters Hiroki Kuroda and Ted Lilly.
Wilkin Ramirez To Be Minor League Free Agent
The Braves have removed Wilkin Ramirez from the 40-man roster, allowing him to qualify for minor league free agency in November, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The Braves acquired Ramirez from the Tigers on July 31st.
In 24 games for Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate, Ramirez hit .253/.351/.458 with four homers. Heading into this season, Baseball America rated the outfielder as the eighth best prospect in Detroit's system. The publication said that while he was unpolished, he still possessed "tantalizing five-tool ability".
The trade deadline deal calls for the Braves to send the Tigers a player to be named later or cash considerations by November 20th.
MLBTR Originals
Here at MLBTradeRumors, we're about a lot more than supplying you with up-to-the-minute hot stove news. Here's a look back at some of our original work this week..
- I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the 2011 Rotations series is complete and has come to a close. The good news is that you can check out every team's preview right here.
- This week MLBTR readers voted on the NL West, the best minor league deal, and Manny Ramirez's next contract.
- The Blue Jays have a lot of options when it comes to Kevin Gregg, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- We continued to examine non-tender candidates this week with looks at Matt Diaz of the Braves and Willy Aybar of the Rays.
- On Thursday we brought you the latest installment of Eddie Bajek's Elias Rankings.
- Luke Adams brought us a look at Carlos Pena's stock as he heads into free agency.
- Check out the transcript of Ben's chat right here.
- Mike Axisa brought us another round up of the best from the baseball blogosphere with Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Geovany Soto is an extension candidate after a fantastic year at the plate.
Week In Review: 9/5/10 – 9/11/10
I've been waiting all day for Sunday night, because that's when we take a look back at the week that was on MLBTR..
- Waves were made on Sunday when Cards skipper Tony La Russa confirmed that Colby Rasmus had demanded a trade earlier in the season. La Russa also said that the youngster made a similar request in 2009. Rasmus later denied making such a request this year.
- We learned on Wednesday that the Red Sox offered Victor Martinez a two-year contract extension. However, he turned that proposal down and his agent Alan Nero says that Martinez is seeking a long-term commitment.
- Meanwhile, Boston is prepared to pick up David Ortiz's option. Big Papi's option calls for him to earn $12.5MM in 2011.
- Boston veteran Mike Lowell put all speculation to rest this week when he announced that he will retire after this season.
- Surprisingly, Aramis Ramirez says that he may not exercise his 2011 option worth $14.6MM.
- The Nats likely won't pick up Adam Kennedy's option for 2011.
- After DFA'ing Akinori Iwamura and Erik Kratz early in the week, the Bucs chose to release Iwamura and outright Kratz to Triple-A.
- It appears that Kevin Towers is the frontrunner for the Diamondbacks GM job.
- Speaking of Towers, the Padres DFA'd Steve Garrison and Towers convinced his current employers, the Yankees, to pick him up. The Yankees designated Wilkin De La Rosa for assignment in order to make room for the pitcher.
- The Dodgers designated infielder Ronnie Belliard for assignment.
- Reliever Taylor Buchholz landed with Toronto after being DFA'd by Colorado on Tuesday.
- Pat Knows. The Royals signed former Dolphins and West Virginia quarterback Pat White to a minor-league deal.
- The Phillies gave Nate Robertson his walking papers and claimed Cesar Carrillo from the Padres.
- The Angels released reliever Brian Stokes, whom they acquired last winter from the Mets. Utility player Robb Quinlan was also released by the Halos.
- Arizona acquired Matt Gorgen from the Rays to complete the July 31st Chad Qualls deal.